Atrial fibrillation is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, eventually affecting over 5% of Americans over age 60, and is associated with high morbidity from recurrent hospitalizations, stroke, and heart failure. The burden is increasing with the aging of the population. The existing treatments include catheter ablation, which is becoming a predominant technique for controlling the arrhythmia. However, unlike for other arrhythmias, the success rate of the ablation procedure for atrial fibrillation is relatively low, with single procedure success rates estimated as low as 50%. One problem is that the disease is not well understood. Because of this, the typical ablation procedure targets a large amount of potential triggering sources for tissue destruction. The decision as to where to ablate is usually not patient-centric.
Recently an approach of identifying sources that may be specific to given individuals as their atrial fibrillation sustaining mechanisms has shown promise in reducing the amount of tissue destruction while improving outcomes. A significant disadvantage, however, is that this technique requires the use of large basket catheters, which are needed to record simultaneously from a large percentage of the surface area of the human left and right atria. These catheters are not typically used for other purposes, and their use predisposes patients to higher risks from the procedure. What are needed are new methods and devices for detecting and/or quantifying atrial fibrillation indicators and other parameters or characteristics. The methods and devices disclosed herein address these and other needs.